And why is Jennifer Hudson so proud of her weight loss? Because she has been the recipient of the Hollywood/cultural message that she was a miserable lard-ass who would amount to nothing as a ‘big girl’, that’s why. It turns out that she is glad her “hard work paid off, but the singer/actress admits that before finding herself in the limelight, she never felt plus-sized. “I remember one of my first times on a red carpet, an interviewer asked, ‘How does it feel to be plus-sized in Hollywood?'” Hudson told Self. “I looked around, like, ‘Who is she talking to? Oh, me? I’m plus-sized?’ In the neighborhood I’m from in Chicago, a 16 is normal. But in Hollywood, everyone looks exactly the same, so I stood out.”

I’m a size 16. Nice to know my hopes for achievement will never come true as long as I am fat. After all, look at Jennifer Hudson. She didn’t accomplish anything with her life until she shed those unwanted pounds.

Wait, what?

Actually she managed to do quite a bit with her big self. Before she lost the weight she managed to make it to the top 10 of American Idol, to release an album that sold a million+ copies, to win a Grammy, and to win an Oscar. You know, there are a lot of people who would like to fail like that.

What is wrong with our culture that a woman with so many achievements that are beyond the wildest dreams of all but a tiny handful of people should consider her recently-slimmed thighs to be her greatest triumph? Why does being fat reduce everything you do to insignificance, just because of the extra pounds? Why are you, as a fat person, inherently unworthy of accomplishment?

9 Responses to Who needs a Oscar when they can have a small ass?

Sad. And you know what? I feel similar about Jennifer Hudson as I did when Jennifer Grey got her nose done.. she was beautiful before AND stood out because she was unique in a place where everyone is so cookie-cutter. Now I see pictures of Jennifer Hudson and go “Who is that again..? Oh, right. Meh.”

This. A few years ago my sister lost 60lbs. Her husband thought she was going to leave him because suddenly she was more valuable and obviously was looking to “upgrade.” My father told her that he’d never been prouder of her. Yeah… never been prouder. She’s overcome abuse, alcoholism, has a degree in theoretical mathematics, two beautiful children and is an active volunteer in the schools and outreach programs in her area. I can *so* see that only her weight loss made her valuable and worth being proud of. *sheesh*

Frustrating. Jane Fonda said one of the main messages she got from her father was that she had to be beautiful. Here he is, this great actor, and here she is, SUCH a talented actor, but it’s all about her looks. She was bulimic until she was about 40.

I know my weight loss is a proud moment (not my proudest by any means though) because it was about me facing a personal demon and being healthier, not about being thin. I thought I was sexy as hell at 218 but I knew I wasn’t healthy, so conquering that demon did make me quite proud. Now that I’m bed-ridden and still in a cast and I’ve managed to maintain my weight-loss, that makes me happy too (even though I’m not still losing to my goal).

It’s disappointing to read that and feel she ONLY lost it due to Hollywood pressure and not for herself or her health, but not everyone who loses significant amounts of weight are doing it for the wrong reasons. I know a lot of members of her family, inspired by her, are losing lots of weight, and it has nothing to due with Hollywood or fame. So even if her reasons were questionable (after all, we don’t know everything she’s faced with her weight or all of her reasons), at least others are benefiting from her example. Like me.

Anything we do in this life that’s a challenge, a college degree, a hard childhood, an eating disorder, alcoholism, weight loss, etc., that’s overcome should be a proud moment for the person who did it and those who witnessed it. But it shouldn’t be their DEFINING moment of who they innately are.

What makes me sick about Jennifer Hudson, and it’s not her fault, I don’t blame her, is that she’s been offered TWO MILLION DOLLARS to write the story of her 80 pound weight loss with WW. Just imagine how much money someone expects to make off of people who feel they need to lose weight, in order to offer her 2million.
The weight loss industry is evil imFATho. London Mabel has a blogpost up right now entitled Chelsea Settles http://www.mabeltalk.com/ It’s about a new television show of the same name. She says:
“The show will follow the recent college grad as she arrives in Los Angeles from a small town near Pittsburgh, and will chronicle issues like her long-distance boyfriend, social phobias and weight loss [she’s 324 pounds]. ”
I’m sure the weight loss industry is, at least in part, sponsoring the show and therefore any messages about body acceptance will be squashed despite the fact that this young woman is beautiful at 324 pounds.

I don’t know who this person is. But if she thinks her weight loss is her biggest deal then she can give me her singing voice. (She sings right?) Because I can’t carry a tune to save my life. She could maybe help others by giving some money away too. Oh that’s right, she doesn’t care about all this fame and fortune, just the size of her ass. How sad for her.
Julie